real world of sci-fi by chrisisall

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

real world of sci-fi

POSTED BY: CHRISISALL
UPDATED: Saturday, May 13, 2023 11:16
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VIEWED: 26677
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Thursday, January 19, 2006 10:39 PM

Hey Stake, haven't seen you around in a while.
I think BSG is the best SF out there right now, it has good depth on all levels; it's obvious that those involved are concerned with the evolution of plot and character, and are working on a nice long development arc. Imaginative groundwork is so essential to what you see of confidence from the actors and writers.

I hope they manage to do something of merit with the doctor soon, imo this is an extremely weak and flat character. Desperation should have depth - sometimes he makes my eyes cross. This creature when well wrought is my very favorite flavor of evil, and can be used so effectively to alter plot trajectory, or break your heart a thousand times.

Some of what I enjoy most about it is the nuance with which each character struggles with uncertainty and the imbalance that causes, and that grief, shame and guiltridden hope are well portrayed. I'll be interested to see what they do with the bots this season, I have a feeling we'll see some swift and subtle twists from them. I've relished saving the first two eps to watch tomorrow.

DT, have you seen Deadwood? The language is foul, but the writing, acting and direction are superb, and it's well researched and fairly accurate. Also, it's very dark, Wes Craven doesn't have a better hand of cards than this show.

Aztecs used the term firefly metaphorically, meaning a spark of knowledge in a world of ignorance or darkness.

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Friday, January 20, 2006 4:42 AM

DREAMTROVE

I haven't seen deadwood

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Friday, January 20, 2006 4:42 AM

DREAMTROVE

Lurk,

Thanks for the info, you make a good sell. I was disappointed by the miniseries, but I'll give it a go. "Angel" is sometimes quite good, but about 1/2 the time it degenerates into being just television, with stock plots, exposition, the great moral hammer, and trite plot developments. I realy enjoyed the one where Spike is a Nazi, in the sub, which I just saw. It's somewhere in season 5. Sadly when I rewatched Sliders, a show I used to quite enjoy, it seemed incredibly trite and maybe just bad. I think my tolerance for television is wearing thin. But I'll give it a try.

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Friday, January 20, 2006 5:00 AM

CHRISISALL

I'm currently re-watching Dark Angel (for like, the sixth time), so my very biased recomendation is to see it. The Logan character is the only stereotype really, you know, unflappable goody-goody, but the show rocks!
*Warning* lots of sentimental mushy crap (I love it, but you must too, or the show is lost on you)

Plus, Stake is right in all he said about BSG.

Hardened DA fan Chrisisall

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Friday, January 20, 2006 5:05 AM

JAYTEE

that tragic space dementia, gettin all paranoid and crotchety, kinda breaks the heart.....

Jaytee

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Friday, January 20, 2006 2:23 PM

LIMINALOSITY

I think Deadwood has plenty in it for you to enjoy...the politics of the period (1876), the testing of law in the crucible of the frontier, a spectrum of capitalist applications portrayed :) white encroachment on the reservations, (and the corruption, cooercion, and shenanigans inherent in the above), the privation and loneliness of life on the edge of society, post Civil War angst. It shows a good range of emotion, and has nice fat murky character arcs: the most despicable characters have admirable moments, and the heros all have nice deep fissures. It's not terribly predictable and it's HBO, so it can thumb it's nose at many conventions that annoy and be as smart as it wants. I picked it up on rental after hearing an interview with the creator, and I didn't stop till I'd seen it all. The people I've told about it have all fallen victim to the gobbling effect.

Lol I saw the Spike as a Nazi ep a couple of weeks ago, and wondered if I liked it more because the eps right before it were so bloody awful. I keep hoping they aren't going to crush all life out of the show before the end. Nightmares of milling hordes of potential slayers, and no Andrew.

Aztecs used the term firefly metaphorically, meaning a spark of knowledge in a world of ignorance or darkness.

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Friday, January 20, 2006 7:34 PM

STAKETHELURK

Weirdly, I don’t think the submarine episode was well-received by the general “Angel” audience (although I also like it). But I really love the latter third of the season, from episode 14, “Smile Time,” on forward (What can I say? I’m a big fan of Blue Thunder).

One thing you should realize though, is that one of the metaphors this season was the metaphor of the series’ itself. To save the show at the end of season four, Joss & Co had to make a bargain with the WB to do more episodic shows and weaken their story arc to bring in new viewers and also accept a significant budget cut. Likewise, at the end of season four Angel has to make a bargain with W&H to save Connor, compromising with evil to try and achieve the greater good. Over the course of season five, Joss backed away from monster of the week and tried to build more of an arc. Likewise, tensions arose between Angel and the Senior Partners, as represented by Eve. But Eve was never all that threatening and Joss got away with introducing more of an arc--the show was pulling in the viewers on a tight budget and accomplishing everything the execs had demanded. Then the WB axed the show anyway.

Within the series, the subsequent events reflect this new reality, with the heroes’ actions mirroring the feelings of the Mutant Enemy team. So, keep the metaphor of Angel=Joss, W&H=WB in mind as you watch this season. It’s not the only way to read it, but it may prove insightful--and perhaps cathartic.

Hopefully, you’ll appreciate the final portion as much as I do.

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Saturday, January 21, 2006 2:19 AM

DREAMTROVE

The submarine show *did* have the feel of having been written for a different show, such as tales from the crypt or outer limits, and then having been angel-ized later. I never felt the story arc was the strongest point, and I can see the show still had problems. It loses overall viability without the buffy crowd around, and sure, the die-hard joss fans would tune in, but millions of casual viewers would walk. In addition, there's a few eps that just fall on their face, endless exposition and flatness. Of course, I think this matters, but I'm wrong, because look at what television does produce. I'm not just talking about married with children or jerry springer, but eve3n la law, or the much loved csi, there's a lot of tv that is pretty trite. Anyway, The puppet ep was good, as the one where Illyria first shows up.

Interesting about the parallel. Television really seems to have spit Joss back out. Curious.

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Saturday, January 21, 2006 8:51 AM

LIMINALOSITY

Thanks, Stake...you always know the details of politics backstory, which just makes it more interesting, because there are always layers of meaning in this work. I've been wondering when exactly WB pulled the plug, and I'll keep your comments in mind as I watch the last bit of unviewed Joss. It's been hard to savor it when it keeps annoying me by going 2-D. Axe Angel, keep Charmed. Go figure. Maybe Spelling is the entertainment division of W&H.

They could have saved some FX budget on wire work, imo, and I don't think they're using Marsters to full advantage but I am enjoying watching two of my favorite actors showing off their superb skills in a plot twist. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it, because I've almost been dreading the last disk.

My muy favorite from the season so far is 'The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco', which was just oo too R. Rodriguez. I laughed so hard there were tears. 'Smile Time' was fun, and last week when I saw the ep I was researching that very sort of thing, so there was coincidental extra creepiness.

Aztecs used the term firefly metaphorically, meaning a spark of knowledge in a world of ignorance or darkness.

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Saturday, January 21, 2006 4:06 PM

DREAMTROVE

I think maybe TV spit out Joss because he didn't match their politics. Anyway, I am much more enjoying this 2nd half of season 5 of Angel, vastly superior to the first half.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2006 5:23 PM

PIRATENEWS

John Lee, conspiracy therapist at Hollywood award-winner History Channel-mocked SNL-spoofed PirateNew.org wooHOO!!!!!!

check out the following music video

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Wednesday, January 25, 2006 5:24 PM

PIRATENEWS

John Lee, conspiracy therapist at Hollywood award-winner History Channel-mocked SNL-spoofed PirateNew.org wooHOO!!!!!!

Firefly Serenity Music Video

Windows Media 37MB

Serenity Pilot Episode 1

Music by Tangerine Dream, "Thief" soundtrack - "Confrontation"

http://www.archive.org/details/SerenityFireflyConfrontationMusicVideo

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Saturday, May 13, 2023 11:16 AM

JAYNEZTOWN

Why we shouldn't fill our minds with endless tales of dystopia

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25834380-100-why-we-shouldnt-fi
ll-our-minds-with-endless-tales-of-dystopia/

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